In the late 1920s, paddlewheel steamboats on the Lower Fox River gave way to barges pushed by diesel-powered tugboats. For several decades, the whistles of tugboats were as familiar to Fox Valley residents as those of trains are today. Fully loaded with 400 tons of coal, pulpwood, or other commodities, a barge could travel four miles per hour.
Two companies dominated barge traffic on the Lower Fox River. The Cook and Brown Lime Company of Oshkosh had begun operations in 1874 using steamboats, but transitioned to tugs and barges in the 1920s. It primarily shipped sand, clay, and lime from the shores of Lake Winnebago to Green Bay.
The Fox River Navigation Company of Kaukauna was founded in 1918 by four paper mills that powered their factories with coal. The company used tugs and barges to ensure a steady, cheap supply of coal from the docks in Green Bay directly to the mills. These vessels also brought pulpwood, sulphite, and other ingredients essential to the papermaking industry.
Towards the middle of the twentieth century, natural gas became cheaper than coal for powering factories, and using the federal highway system became economical for shipping some commodities. Both developments caused a sharp decline in barge traffic on the Fox River. Local residents witnessed the end of commercial traffic on the Fox River when the last barge passed through its locks in 1959.